Drilling attachment for corn-planters



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

. A. O. EVANS.

DRILLING ATTACHMENT FOR CORN PLANTERS. No. 311,574. Patented Feb. 3, 1885'.

e fies-f piv'enior O W flMZM'VW 2 t e e h S s t e e h S 2 QM N A. V E G A m d o M o DRILLING ATTACHMENT FOR 001m PLANTERS. No. 311,574.

Patented Feb, 3, 1885.

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AUSTIN O. EVANS, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

DRILLING ATTACHMENT FOR CORN-PLANTERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 311,574. dated February 3, 1885.

Application filed August 15, 1884. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUSTIN G. Evans, a citi zen'of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drilling Attachments for Corn-Planters; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to drilling attachments for corn-planters; and it consists in simplifying the construction of the gear mechanism of the drilling attachment, also in the adjustability of the engaging gearing, whereby the drilling devices are thrown in and out of gear with more precision and greater ease to the operator.

It consists, also, in making the entire gearing, shaft, and couplings detachable, so as to be easily and quickly applied in converting the machine from a dropper to a drill, and allowing them to be taken off when not in use.

It further consists of the arrangement of the latching devices of the hand-lever for facilitating the operation of the latter.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved drilling attachment as applied to a two-horse oornplanter, the wheel on the gear side be ing removed. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the entire machine. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line m, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the hand-lever and its two latch-levers. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the couplingshaft, with the parts attached thereto in longitudinal section, also a cross-section, K, of the pinion and shaft. Fig. 6 is a view of the adjustable bracket-plate on the axle which supports the rear end of the coupling-shaft. Fig. 7 is a cross-section of the seat-bracket and a top view of the front section of the couplingshaft as attached thereto. Fig. 8 is a rear view of one of the runner-posts and seed-tube. Fig. 9 is a detail view of the gearing and its attachments, with the coveringwheel hub and its gear shown in horizontal section.

The general construction of the planter shown in the drawings is the same as that in my Patent No. 281,756, of July 24, 1883, and the gearing for the drill attachment is applied on one side of the planter, but the mode of engaging and disengaging the gearing differs materially from it.

The front section, A, of the planter has V- shaped hound-bars extending back and converging in the central line, and connected by a plate with a loop at the vertex in which the lower end of an'upright bar is pivoted, and this latter extends through the front end of the foot-lever pivoted over the axle, thus connecting the two sections A and B of the planter. The front section is raised, lowered, and tilted forward by the operation of the foot-lever or the hand'lever, or both in conjunction. The hand-lever is fulcrumed upon the same shaft with the foot-lever above the axle, being pivoted between two toothed sectors or racks, one of which is movable with it. This latter construction and arrangement is fully set forth in my Patent No. 307,383, dated October 28, 1884. I do not, therefore, make any claim to it in this application.

The hub to of the covering-wheel a, on the rear of the lattcr,has ahollow spur-wheel, a, slipped over it and secured thereto by a setscrew, 7t, which forms the main drive-gear of the attachment. This wheel engages with a pinion, c, on the end of the short transverse shaft 11, in front of the axle and parallel with the latter, under the side bar, 0. This shaft extends through a sleeve -bracket, O, which latter is provided with oblong holes to make it adjustable, and is secured to the side bar, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2.

On the inside end of the transverse shaft b is a large bevel-wheel, b, which engages a small bevelpinion, c, 011 the coupling-shaft D, and through this latter motion is transmitted to the slide-bar, and then cc to the seeding device.

The shaft D, unlike that shown in my former patent of July 21, 1883, No. 281,756, slips through an open sleeve, b, at the rear end, which sleeve is hinged to the bracket-plate I,

depending from the axle and extending forward of the latter, and the pinion c is engaged and disengaged by an endwise movement of the shaft obtained by the operation of either the hand-lever E or the foot-leverG in tilting the front section of the planter, and which will be more fully explainedhereinafter. The pinsecured under the collar and the other is inion 0, as seen in the enlarged view, Fig. 5, and in the detail K of this figure, has a sleeve-extension, c, onits rear end, with which it is cast integral. To preventtur'ning on the shaft D a longitudinal groove, 9, is planed out in the atter, and a spline, g, on the inside ofthe pinion engages this groove, allowing the pinion to be slipped up or down upon the shaft.

About midway of the shaft D is a collar, (1, secured to the shaft by a set -'screw. and between this and the pinion cis a spiral spring, 62', on the shaft. One end of this spring is serted through a hole in the lug c on the upper end of the pinion. spring is to ease the shock caused by throwing the pinion in gear, to aid in retaining it in engagement by pressure toward its engaging gear-wheel, to take up shocks caused by operating the machine over rough or uneven ground, and to obviate the necessity of a separate clutch upon the shaft, as the pinion can slide up or down upon the latter in the operation of engaging and disengaging the gearing, which is performed, as before stated, by the hand-lever or footlever, or both in conjunction, and both operate as follows:

To throw the pinion 0 out of engagement with the bevel-gear I) by the hand-lever E the latter is thrown back to the position seen in Fig. 3, (the shaftz' in the standards being rotated in the same direction,) the front end of foot-lever G is thrown up, raising the upright bar n,which being pivotally connected with bars m at the vertex plate N of the same, the front section is tilted forward, pulling coupling-shaft D in the same direction, thus freeing the pinion. By throwing the handlever in the opposite direction the rear end of the front section is depressed and the pinionc re-engaged. As the foot and hand lever are both attached to the shaft i, a movement of either or both in the same direction effects the same result.

During the operation of the planter, should the runners strike an obstruction so as to tilt the front section backward, the shaft D will be thrust backward through the hinged sleeve b of the bracket I, which is made open for that purpose, as seen in Fig. 5, without disengaging the pinion c, which recovers its position on the shaft by the action of the spiral spring 61. The collard being adjustable on the shaft, the pinion can be set at any desired point according to the depth required for the runners and the condition of the ground. If the drilling is to be in shallow furrows, with the front section raised the pinion and collar will be set nearer to the rear end of shaft D. If in deep furrows, with the front section depressed, they will be set farther toward the front end. In changing the drop to a greater or less distance apart the pinion c is removed and a larger or smaller pinion substituted therefor, as required.

The front section, H, of the coupling-shaft I), instead of extending through the seat- The object of thisbracket 71., is clamped thereto by a clip-iron, h, similar to that used on carriage-axles. By means of this clip attachment the entire coupling-shaft D and its pinion can be quickly detached. The sleeve-plate O, supporting-shaft b and its gear attachments, and the bracketplate I, with its pivoted sleeve Z), are easily removed, and the hollow spur-gear a on the wheel-hub a also, so that the attachment can readily be connected with or disconnected from the planter. The oblong holes in plates 0 and I provide for their adjustment. The hand-lever E is pivoted to the shaft 2' between the two toothed sectors F and F, one rack, F, being attached to said shaft. The two latchrods e and e engage the teeth of the two sectors Fand F, respectively. Instead, however, of being both pivoted on one edge of the handlever, I pivot one on each side of the same, constructing the handles so that they diverge from each other sufficiently to allow of either one being caught with the hand-lever without the other. By this arrangement I am enabled to use either latch-lever in connection with the hand-lever without removing the hand entirely from the latter. As the movement of the latch-lever handles is at right angles with that of the handlever, confusion in operating either or both with the latter is avoided.

By reference to Fig. 8' it will be seen that the runner-post is provided with lugs ZZ at the top end on either side, which project backward from the ed e, and below these are lugs r r on the same, which engage with notches in the edges of the seed-tube J, the lower end of the latter being held by lugs 19 1) on the runner post, which also project rearward. Lugs Z Z and p 12 all extend outside of the seedtube, which is thus prevented from any sidewise movement. On one edge of both runnerpost and seed-tube, near the middle,is a single approximating lug, and the seed-tube and runner-post are secured together through these lugs. By this mode of fastening a number of bolts are dispensed with, allowing easy detachment of the seed-tube to remove the valve in changing the machine to a-drill, and may be considered, in connection with the detachable features of the drill attachment,as an advantage to the operator.

I claim as my invention 1. In a drilling attachment for a cornplanter, the combination of a drive-wheel, a short transverse shaft with intermediate driven gear, a coupling-shaft having a pinion sliding loosely thereon engaged by the latter, a spiral spring to hold said pinion in engagement with its connected gear-wheel, and a pivoted sleeve-hanger supporting the rear end of said coupling-shaft in line therewith to allow the latter to be elevated or depressed at the front end in conforming to the movements of the planter.

2. In a drilling attachment for a cornplanter, a coupling s'haft connecting the drivegear with the slide-bar of the planter, a loose IIO sliding pinion thereon rotating with said coupling-shaft, a spring encircling the latter pressing upon said pinion to hold it in engagement with its drive-gear, and a collar, with means for attaching the latter to the coupling-shaft and for adjusting the pinion and spring thereon for deep and shallow furrowing, as set forth.

3. In a drilling attachment for a cornplanter, a coupling-shaft connecting the driving-gear and seeding devices having a sliding pinion adj ustably secured thereon,a spring to hold said pinion in engagement with its drive-gear, said couplingshal't being pivotally supported at its rear end in an open sleevelianger to allow it to have free radial movement upward and downward and to permit of endwise or thrust movement through said sleeve-hanger in tilting the front section of the planter and in engaging and disengaging said pinion to throw the drilling attachment in and out of gear.

I. In adrilling attachment for a corn-plant er, the combination of the adjustable coupling-shaft connecting the driving-gear mechanism with the slide-bar of the planter, the pinion sliding thereon, the spring to hold the latter in engagement with its connecting-gear, and the collar and set-screw or other equiva lent means for adjusting said pinion and spring upon said coupling-shaft to allow it to engage the drive gear in forming deep or shallow furrows and drilling therein, as set forth.

5. In a two horse corn-planter having a drilling attachment and provided with a foot and a hand lever and either or both adapted to operate the front section of the planter, the combination of a coupling-shaft, a loose slidingpinion thereon, acompression-spring, with means for adjusting both pinion and spring to retain said pinion in engagement to ease the shock when the latter is thrown into gear and in operating the planter over uneven ground and to obviate the necessity of a separate clutch on said couplingshaft, said pinion being engaged and disengaged automatically by the movement of the foot-lever or the handlever either separately or in conjunction, as set forth.

6. In a two-horse corn-planter convertible from a dropper to a drill, the combination, with the covei'ingwheel, of the hollow spurwheel, and means for attaching the latter to the hub of said covering-wheel, the system of gearing and attachments operated by said spur-wheel consisting of the spur-pinion and bevel-gear wheel, the transverse shaft, the coupling-shaft with a pinion thereon adapted to have an endwise movement, a spiral spring encircling said coupling-shaft above said pinion and connected therewith, and a collar attached to the opposite end of said spring provided with means for adjusting the pinion, spring, and collar together upon said shaft, for the purpose set forth.-

7. In a corn-planter having a drill attachment, the combination of an adjustable coupling-shaft with a pinion thereon adapted to have a sliding movement, means for preventing said pinion from turning and for retain ing it in adjustment on said shaft, a spring upon the latter for holding said pinion in engagement, and a pivoted open sleeve supporting the rear end of said coupling-shaft to allow the latter to adjust itself by an endwise movement through said sleeve in operating said planter and its drill attachment, as set forth.

8. In a drilling attachment for a corn-planter, a coupling-shaft provided with a longitudinal slot, a pinion having a spline therein engaging said slot and adapted to slide upon said shaft in adjusting itself to the engaged gear-wheel, a spiral spring actuating said pinion when moved upon the shaft to adjust it into its proper position, and a collar, and means for adjusting the same, securing said spring and pinion upon said shaft, and a bracket having a pivoted open sleeve supporting the rear end of said coupling-shaft to allow end-thrust of the latter through said sleeve in operating the planter and its attachment, as set forth.

9. In a corn planter with a drill attachment, the combination, with the coupling-shaft of the latter and a post of the droppers seat, of a clip-iron or stirrup securing the front bearing of said couplingshaft thereto, as set forth.

10. In combination, the bracket I, the pivoted sleeve Z), and coupling-shaft D, the latter having free radial movement upward and downward as well as end-thrust through said sleeve, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

11. Ina handdever operated between two toothed sectors, the arrangement of the two latchlevers with the handles for actuating the same on the two opposite sides of said handlever for the purpose of allowing the operator to manipulate either or both latch-levers in connection with the hand-lever without removing his hand from the latter, said latchlever handles operating across the line of movement of the hand-lever, as set forth.

12. In a corn-planter with a drilling attachment, a runner-post having rearwardlyextending lugs and a single lug on one side for connecting it with the seed-tube, in combination with the latter, having a single lug on one side approximating that upon said runner-post, and provided with notchesengaging one or more of the rearwardly-extending lugs on said runner-post, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUSTIN O. EVANS.

Vitn esses:

B. O. CONVERSE, LOUIS O. EVANS. 

